Davis Cup: Germany wants to reach the final with fan support
Germany will play against Russia in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup final tournament in Madrid on Saturday (live on ServusTV from 1 p.m.). MichaelKohlman's team would like to create a sensation against Medvedev and Co.
by SID / red
last edit: Dec 03, 2021, 03:46 pm
The German tennis professionals go to the Davis Cup semi-finals with great self-confidence and want to make their first place in the final in 28 years despite their role as outsiders. "We are ready and hot, we want to take this next step. The semifinals is not what we are committed to," said captain Michael Kohlmann on Friday in Madrid: "We are here to get the thing."
On Saturday (1:00 p.m. / ServusTV) the selection of the German Tennis Federation (DTB) will meet the Russian team, which as a result of the sanctions following the state doping scandal officially runs as the "Russian Tennis Association" and US Open winners Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev ranks numbers two and five in the world. The outsider role could "not be discussed away," admitted Kohlmann. The team already knows who will be the second individual player next to Jan-Lennard Struff , says Kohlmann, but he doesn't want to reveal it until tomorrow.
Kohlmann also hopes for the neutral audience
"That is quite a task," said the 47-year-old, but also emphasized: "This competition has shown in the past few days that surprises are always possible. That's where we start." For the first time since 1993, the last of three titles to be won in the prestigious team competition, a DTB team can reach the final again. At that time Michael Stich, Marc-Kevin Göllner and Patrik Kühnen ensured a 4-1 win against Australia in Düsseldorf.
"I don't like the phrase 'you have nothing to lose'," said Kohlmann, therefore: "We have the semi-finals to lose." His team is now "so close", he added: "We see no reason why we should be satisfied with that." Especially since in Madrid, in contrast to the preliminary round and the quarter-finals in Innsbruck, German fans will again be allowed in the stands. Kohlmann also hopes for the neutral audience, which certainly would not fully support the Russians.